US Vice President Mike Pence told leaders of Southeast Asian nations on Thursday there is no place for “empire and aggression” in the Indo-Pacific region, a comment seen as a reference to China’s rise.

Pence did not mention China in his remarks at the opening of a summit of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Singapore, but he stressed all countries in the region should be allowed to prosper.

“Like you we seek an Indo-Pacific in which all nations, large and small, can prosper and thrive – secure in our sovereignty, confident in our values, and growing stronger together,” he said. “We all agree that empire and aggression have no place in the Indo-Pacific.”

‘Free, fair and reciprocal’

Pence said Washington had taken action to promote this vision, including steps to spur private investment in infrastructure and the pursuit of trade that is “free, fair, and reciprocal”.

The vice president also highlighted the United States’ “pressure campaign” on North Korea, its “commitment to uphold the freedom of the seas and skies”, and determination to ensure that Southeast Asian nations are secure in their sovereign borders, on land, at sea, and in the digital world.

Pence’s comments follow a major speech in October in which he flagged a tougher approach by Washington towards Beijing, accusing China of “malign” efforts to undermine US President Donald Trump and reckless military actions in the South China Sea.

The United States has conducted a series of “freedom of navigation” exercises in the disputed South China Sea, angering Beijing, which claims the sea as its own.

Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Taiwan also claim parts of the maritime region, which is thought to be rich in natural resources and is a major global shipping route.

China rising

Pence’s comments came as a US report on Wednesday said China’s armed forces could match the United States’ by 2050.

Beijing has made significant advancements in hypersonic weapons, cyber abilities, and space defence, said the report. China increased its military budget this year to $175bn, an 8.1 percent increase compared to 2017.

Congress tasked the National Defence Strategy Commission to look at Trump’s sweeping National Defence Strategy (NDS), which highlighted a new era of “Great Power competition” with Moscow and Beijing.

The panel found just as the US military faced budget cuts and diminishing military advantages, nations such as China and Russia are pursuing build-ups aimed “at neutralising US strengths”.

“America’s military superiority – the hard-power backbone of its global influence and national security – has eroded to a dangerous degree,” the commission’s report said.

The US’ focus on counter-insurgency operations has resulted in it slipping in other warfighting areas such as missile defence, cyber and space operations, and anti-surface and anti-submarine warfare.

“The US military could suffer unacceptably high casualties and loss of major capital assets in its next conflict,” the commission found.

“It might struggle to win, or perhaps lose, a war against China or Russia. The United States is particularly at risk of being overwhelmed should its military be forced to fight on two or more fronts simultaneously.”

Though the Pentagon this year has a budget of more than US$700bn – far more than Russia and China combined – the commission said the sum is still “clearly insufficient” to meet the goals laid out in the NDS.

SOURCE:
Al Jazeera and news agencies

Image: DOMINIQUE FAGET/AFP/Getty Images

2018 has been one toxic year.

You know it, we know it, and the Oxford Dictionary knows it. The prestigious publisher has chosen their Word of the Year, and this time, it’s “toxic.” 

“The Oxford Word of the Year is a word or expression that is judged to reflect the ethos, mood, or preoccupations of the passing year, and have lasting potential as a term of cultural significance,” reads on online statement from the dictionary.

“In 2018, toxic added many strings to its poisoned bow becoming an intoxicating descriptor for the year’s most talked about topics.”

Dictionaries like the Oxford, Merriam-Webster, Macquarie and Dictionary.com pick their words of the year based on the frequency of online lookups — last year, Oxford’s was “youthquake.” 

What made the shortlist for 2018? Gaslighting, incel, techlash, gammon, cakeism, overtourism, orbiting and of course, Big Dick Energy.

According to data collated by the dictionary, the word “toxic” saw a 45 percent rise in the number of times it’s been looked up on the Oxford Dictionary website in 2018.

But it’s not just looked up alone. Over the last year these ten habitually associated words, or collocates, were the most looked up:

1. Chemical

2. Masculinity

3. Substance

4. Gas

5. Environment

6. Relationship

7. Culture

8. Waste

9. Algae

10. Air

Toxic masculinity stands out, right? It’s the second most associated word people have looked up in the dictionary online. It makes sense considering the last 12 months, with the #MeToo and Time’s Up movements championing the abolition of toxic masculinity, and toxic relationships (number six on the list).

Toxic chemical, however, is the most looked up. Oxford suggests this could be due to news stories of the last 12 months involving these, like the nerve agent poisoning of a former Russian intelligence officer and his daughter, and global concern over the world’s toxic chemical stockpiles.

Toxic environment could mean multiple things, from recent shifts in attitude toward harassment in the workplace to recent reports of extreme air pollution in India. The same goes for toxic culture, which could relate to workplace unrest akin to Google’s mass walkouts. 

So, you’ve made it this far, you must want to know where the word “toxic” comes from?

“The adjective toxic is defined as ‘poisonous’ and first appeared in English in the mid-seventeenth century from the medieval Latin toxicus, meaning ‘poisoned’ or ‘imbued with poison’,” reads the

“The medieval Latin term was in turn borrowed from the Latin toxicum, meaning ‘poison’, which has its origins in the Greek toxikon pharmakon – lethal poison used by the ancient Greeks for smearing on the points of their arrows.”

Quito, Ecuador – More than 1,500 indigenous protesters had a clear message as they march through Ecuador’s capital Quito on Wednesday: Stop mining on, or near, indigenous territory.

“We need to fight together,” said Alexandra, a Kichwa indigenous woman who walked more than 600km in traditional sandals from the southern Amazonian province of Zamora Chinchipe to Quito. She was one of about 80 indigenous protesters who set out from their native lands on November 3 with the goal of ensuring the protection of their water and territory. Hundreds more from other indigenous groups joined them along the way.

“It’s just not possible that the government and transnational companies want to keep destroying our forest, our lakes, our paramos,” Alexandra told Al Jazeera.

The protesters demanded a meeting with President Lenin Moreno, which he agreed to hold on Thursday, without setting a time.

Yaku Sacha Perez Guartambel, president of the Confederation of Peoples of the Kichwa Nationality and one of the leaders of the march, was pleased but remained sceptical, saying previous talks with the government “have not advanced anything”.

‘We’ve had to leave our homes’

Zamora Chinchipe has been one of the provinces most affected by the country’s mining industry. It is located in the Condor Mountain Range (Cordillera del Condor), home to several indigenous communities, an area particularly rich in biodiversity, surrounded by dense cloud forest.

But the region is also rich in minerals, where small-scale gold miners and Ecuador’s largest open pit mines operate. This includes the Chinese-owned Mirador copper mine, the region’s first open pit mine.

“They’re still in the construction phase and the environmental impacts are very severe,” Carlos Mazabanda, Amazon Watch’s Ecuador Field Coordinator, told Al Jazeera. More than 1,200 hectares of primary forest were clear cut for the mine, which has affected rivers, aquatic life and indigenous communities’ access to water, he added.

“That’s why [the march] left from this region, demanding that more projects like this not be developed,” Mazabanda said.   

Tension between indigenous communities and the mining industry in the Cordillera del Condor reached a peak in 2016, when the Ecuadorian army evicted the Shuar community from the town of Nankits to make way for the San Carlos Panantza open pit copper mine. The community tried several times to retake the territory, which ended in an aggressive standoff with authorities and the death of one police officer. The former government of Rafael Correa responded by calling the indigenous resistors “terrorists” and putting them on a blacklist, but they have since been removed. The Chinese-owned mine is currently under development.  

“It’s been really hard at times … more than anything because the government doesn’t listen to us, and some of us don’t have a place to live. We’ve have to leave our homes because of mining projects,” Alexandra said.

Last year, indigenous communities marched for nearly two weeks from the Amazonian city of Puyo to Quito to demand an end to oil extraction in the rainforest.

President Moreno, who met protesters, agreed to stop all new oil and mining concessions that failed to receive the prior and informed consent of local communities. The move was praised by environmentalists and considered a small win for indigenous rights.  

But months later, the government continued with plans to auction off plots of land in the Amazon for oil exploration, despite objections by local communities. The government is expected to release a list of qualifying companies in December and sign contracts in March of 2019.

The government also continues to promote foreign investment in its mining sector, aiming to double its mining GDP by 2021.  

Both initiatives, according to the government, are meant to boost Ecuador’s economy, which is still struggling since the drop of international oil prices in 2014 that also caused major divestment in its oil industry.

Juan Pizar, a Kichwa protester from the southern province of Canar, said land near his community of Tambo has been concessioned, but the group was not consulted. “We don’t want it,” he told Al Jazeera.

Mazabanda says indigenous communities have been planning many more initiatives to put increasing pressure on the government to comply with its promises.  

On Tuesday, a small group of Amazonian indigenous women occupied the Ministry of Hydrocarbons, refusing to leave until they speak with Minister Carlos Perez and present him with a list of demands – namely that oil drilling in the Amazon stop. As of Wednesday night, the women were still in the ministry.

“Oil will remain under the ground because we want to protect human life. Let’s all go out to defend life,” wrote Gloria Ushigua, one of the occupiers from the Zapara nation, on her facebook page while inside the ministry.  

No matter how many high-profile action movies he carries, Dwayne Johnson will always be The Rock, the first third-generation wrestler the World Wrestling Federation (now the World Wresting Entertainment, or WWE) ever knew. Now, the bonafide Hollywood star is marrying his two worlds by heading back to the ring in his newest flick, Fighting with My Family.

The first trailer for the movie introduces a family of WWE fanatics who make a living by wrestling in small venues — until one day a representative from the WWE (played by Vince Vaughn) recognizes talent in siblings Paige (Florence Pugh) and Zak (Jack Lowden) and invites them to try out for the big leagues. Unfortunately, only Paige makes the final cut, ending up with the opportunity of a lifetime, a disgruntled brother, and a brand new relationship with The Rock.

The craziest part about this movie is that it’s based on a true story — that of now-retired WWE Diva Paige (whose real name is Saraya-Jade Bevis) — but it does have some particularly funny bits that may or may not be exaggerated for comedic value. For example, when Paige and Zak are prepping for their big audition, they bump into The Rock backstage, who slams them with some classic performative insults. “You walk around here interrupting The Rock! You, like you haven’t seen the sun in 20 years; you, like you just stepped out of Oliver Twist!”

And since this very meta movie wouldn’t be complete without at least one Fast and Furious reference, at one point The Rock calls up Paige’s dad, whose disbelief in the caller’s identity leads him to say, “Yeah, and I’m Vin Diesel, mate,” before hanging up.

Diving deeper into the story on Instagram, The Rock wrote about his personal connection with the story. “In 2012 I watched a documentary about a young, unknown British female pro wrestler and her wonderfully crazy and loving wrestling family,” he began. “I loved it and instantly identified with her and her family — because it reminded me of MY wonderfully, loving and fucking crazy wrestling family.”

He continued by praising the film’s director, Stephen Merchant, and its star for bringing comedic light into the project, and lauding Paige as one of the women who would go on to “help redefine and usher the spectacular WWE women’s wrestling the world enjoys today.”

Check out the trailer above. Fighting with My Family hits theaters in February 2019.

Sri Lanka v England live – second Test, day two, Pallekele – Live – BBC Sport

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Image: Chesnot/Getty Images

Although Kanye West didn’t get that billion dollars from Mark Zuckerberg he asked for back in 2016, they seem to be alright friends.

On Twitter, West posted a photo of him and the Facebook CEO in the midst of a karaoke session, where the artist said they sang the Backstreet Boys’ 1999 classic “I Want It That Way.” It’s unclear when the photo was taken. 

The posting of the photo comes after a bombshell New York Times report on the social network’s failings on handling Russian interference, how it chose to appease Republican politicians, and its deflection of criticism.

It’s been a weird one for Zuckerberg.

Zuckerberg isn’t the only guy in social media hanging out with West, with Twitter’s Jack Dorsey invited to the singer’s birthday party last year. 

There, Kim Kardashian pushed Dorsey on the oft-requested edit button, but we have an inkling that Zuckerberg wouldn’t have been in the mood to talk about work if the photo was taken today.

The thought of Netflix putting out more content about a curvy girl entering the pageant world may make some people cringe, but here we are. The first trailer for Dumplin’ has landed, and it actually seems promising that this will finally be the body-positive story young women deserve.

Based on the YA novel by Julie Murphy, Dumplin’ is about a curvy teen named Willowdean Dickson (Danielle Macdonald) whose former beauty queen mother (Jennifer Aniston) runs their local beauty pageant. When Will decides to join said pageant as a “protest,” a group of her similarly marginalized peers follow her lead.

Refusing to conform to the standards of beauty traditionally touted in pageants, the young ladies seek inspiration from Will’s fave, Dolly Parton, and head to a local Dolly-themed drag bar for the aesthetic and confidence boost they need.

Oh yeah, and there’s a love story tucked in there somewhere, which we get a small hint of with this heart-melting monologue: “Willowdean Dickson, I think you’re beautiful. To hell with anyone else who’s ever made you feel less than that.”

Dumplin’ also comes with a strong female footprint. It’s directed by Anne Fletcher with a screenplay by Kristin Hahn and executive produced by Aniston.

All in all, this movie looks like a fun ride with all the self-love affirmations you could want. We’ll find out for sure when Dumplin’ hits Netflix on December 7.

The gaming industry has a well-known diversity problem.

However, amid the bustle at PAX Australia, the largest gaming convention in the southern hemisphere, a new exhibit put underrepresented games and developers at the forefront.

Led by Australian curator and Rumu gamerunner Ally McLean, the NEXT exhibit featured six games that shake things up, including one by an all-woman developer team, a creator with autism, and a game that examines life as a transgender teenager.

“I know that diverse teams make awesome games, and I know that there are barriers to diverse teams getting to do things like show their games at PAX. It’s expensive, it can be prohibitive, especially coming all the way to Australia,” McLean told Mashable.

“It’s equally as important that consumers and the largest fan base of gaming enthusiasts … are exposed to diverse developers, so that they can broaden their minds to not just what games can be, but who game developers can be.”

McLean dreamt up the idea at PAX East in Boston in April, when she was showing Rumu as part of the Australian showcase. 

With an aim to launch NEXT at PAX’s Melbourne instalment in October, McLean accepted applications until the end of July, by which she received over 100 submissions for six exhibitor spaces. The final selection of games to make up the very first NEXT was decided by a panel of diversity advocates and developers looking for unheard stories in gaming.

“The driving question was really, what does this game offer that we haven’t seen anywhere else?” McLean said.

“What does this game offer that we haven’t seen anywhere else?” 

The six chosen games came from teams like Montreal-based Artifact 5, who’ve developed a surrealist game exploring mental illness in Anamorphine, and fellow Montreal crew Kitfox Games with its dating sim and adventure crossover Boyfriend Dungeon. 

She and the Light Bearer is a point-and-click adventure based on Indonesian folklore, developed by Mojiken Studio.

There’s also the all-woman team of 3 Fold Games, who’ve created Before I Forget, which explores life with dementia. While a Brazilian team of students called Pugcorn were behind Florescer, which examines the hardships and prejudices of a transgender girl. 

An Aspie Life

One particular game that was featured at NEXT is Bradley Hennessey’s An Aspie Life, which reflects on his own experience of living with Asperger’s Syndrome.

Released in March on Steam, Hennessey taught himself how to make the game while he was in the last year of high school. PAX is the first gaming convention he’s ever attended.

“I think NEXT is really important because PAX is mainly about AAA gaming, with lots of brand new shiny things,” he explained. “But in the indie space there’s so many games that try and push the boundaries, which get left behind because they’re different.”

In An Aspie Life, you play as a character living with Asperger’s Syndrome, who has to face the outside world after your roommate mysteriously leaves. 

While developing the game, Hennessey paid more attention to his own traits, which includes noise sensitivity and body language perception. 

“The difficult part was trying to turn my traits into game mechanics that can be playable, and that was very difficult because it hasn’t really been done before,” he said. 

In the game, you’ll take on a task as mundane as grocery shopping. But that becomes a mission, with loud police sirens and interactions with strangers posing a severe challenge in the game, punishing your happiness levels.

For Hennessey, not only does showing his game at PAX expose his story to a new audience, but it allows him to further grow as a developer.

“Online you can get your comments and stuff, but there’s no human interaction, so as a developer you can’t see how people find bugs, or how they got to that position,” he added.

“But being at PAX and seeing people play it, and seeing how they interact with it helps with me as a developer on future projects.”

What’s next for NEXT

While the gaming industry has a long way to go when it comes to diversity, NEXT is one of several groups that are fighting to do better. But will the rest of the industry notice?

“I’m definitely of the belief from my experience in the games industry that people are willing to help if you give them a way. So when we put out the call out for sponsors for NEXT, we were really blown away that people responded,” McLean said.

While the first NEXT proved an exciting, impactful start, the ultimate goal is for the exhibit to have a larger presence in future.

“Six games is not enough,” McLean added. “We’d love to see this become a bigger part of PAX, we’d love for this to part of shows all around the world, and giving a platform for developers that would otherwise not get to be here.”

It’s been an eventful few weeks for the former Fifth Harmony girls. In the past month alone, Lauren Jauregui released her sultry debut single, Normani debuted a couple Calvin Harris collabs, Dinah Jane dropped a bubbly video, and Camila Cabello dominated the EMAs. As for Ally Brooke? The 25-year-old is on a hot streak of her own, making two exciting announcements this week.

On Wednesday (November 14), Ally revealed that she’s coming out with a memoir, entitled Finding Your Harmony: Dream Big, Have Faith, and Achieve More Than You Can Imagine.

“Guys, I’ve always wanted to write my story and ultimately help others through it,” she shared on Twitter. “I have been through so much, and at times I thought it would never get better, but through faith, family, you, amazing friends, music, and love, I am at a place in life where I finally am truly happy, and living out some of my biggest dreams.”

She added, “This book is another dream of mine come to life, and I can finally share with [you]. I’ve been working on this in private for a very long time. I have so much to tell.”

According to publisher Harper Collins, the memoir will cover Ally’s roots growing up in a Mexican-American family in Texas, and trace her rise to pop superstardom with Fifth Harmony. The book’s description reads, “In this moving and inspirational memoir, Fifth Harmony’s Ally Brooke shares her love for music, recalls her journey to fame, and reveals how she has remained true to herself and her beliefs through her most difficult moments.”

Finding Your Harmony will hit shelves on April 2, 2019. Until then, Ally has something else special coming for fans: a cover of the Wham! holiday favorite “Last Christmas,” which arrives November 16. She announced the news on Tuesday, adding that she’ll be performing the festive tune at next week’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

“It’s been one of the biggest dreams of mine to release a Christmas song and now I finally get to,” she wrote. “One of my favorite Christmas songs of all time.”

‘Tis the season for not one, but two, of Ally’s dreams to come true!

Wimbledon finalist Agnieszka Radwanska has announced her retirement from tennis at the age of 29.

The former world number two was runner-up to Serena Williams in 2012 and won 20 WTA titles in her 13-year career.

She finished every season between 2008 and 2016 ranked inside the world’s top 15, but is currently ranked 75th and has not won a title since October 2016.

Radwanska said the decision to retire was “one of the most important” of her life and was “not easy”.

“Unfortunately I am no longer able to train and play the way I used to, and recently my body can’t live up to my expectations,” she added.

“Taking into consideration my health and the heavy burdens of professional tennis, I have to concede that I’m not able to push my body to the limits required.”